Monthly Archives:August 2016

Fair enough. We’ve got a comfortable home in a great community surrounded by good people here in Rose Park (Salt Lake City, Utah). We have a stable business. Loyal friends and family. Good schools and extracurricular opportunities. Living the American Dream! Then to leave that good life, built over ten years, to live off-grid in one of the top five poorest countires in the world, where we will get to pump all of our water by hand, prepare food over a coal stove and clean clothes with a washboard, live in a 450sf dome, run the risk of getting malaria and falling behind in school, and all on a volunteer basis… why?

While we don’t expect anyone to agree with our reasons, here they are…

Family: We want to grow closer as a family, and hope our new living circumstances and the work we will be doing will give us the opportunity to do so. The Heartwood Family at the orphanage we will be adopted into will expand our chances to love and be loved

Service: There is a great deal of work to be done within the projects operated by Africa Heartwood Project – a non-profit organization started by Kayla and me in 2008. Our primary focus will be on Village Water Projects and buildig the Heartwood Orphan Homestead. Livelihoods for Cultural Artisans. And more.

Learning: We consider any opportunity to travel and experience up close a way of life different from the one to which we are accustomed to be valuable. Attending a government school in a Liberian village could be a very rich non-academic learning experience for each of the children.

Meet the family at the Heartwood Orphan Home where we will be living in this short video:

Here’s a preview of the DomeHome we will live in once it is completed in September 2016:

Hey there! This is my first blog post.. and I don’t really know what to say. This is for us to keep in touch and let you all know what’s up in Liberia. It’s gonna be really fun to take videos of what life will be like. (which, to my understanding, will almost kill me) My most relevant worry is what I will take with me! What the heck would you bring if you were uprooting your life to travel to another continent? We each get to take two suitcases, and I want to take things to help keep me from getting homesick. So that means I’m taking pictures of people I love, gifts and letters from friends, and things that make me happy. Which means OF COURSE I’m taking my Pride and Prejudice book, that I’ll probably read about 5 times while I’m gone 🙂

I’m going to miss so many people and places. Who am I kidding with taking keepsakes? No matter what, I’m for sure going to be homesick. I’ll miss my ward family (Youth and leaders especially) and extended family, who mean so dang much to me I can’t even say how much I’m going to miss you. And no pressure if you don’t want to spend your time reading a blog, who knows if it’ll even be interesting… I’ve never done a blog or anything like it before, so I’m sorry if it’s not what you thought. Thanks for at least pretending to be interested though. Thanks for being so supportive and thoughtful, taking time to be my friends, and showing so much love to our family. I love the young women so much, you’re making it hard to leave!You guys are my besties! You’ve always made me feel so happy and at home. I’ll think about you every day. I found a quote recently that I love (and may have shared it with a few of you already) and it says “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” -Winnie the Pooh

I am kind of exited to go to Africa? I know that I’m going to be really hot during the day and night. One thing that I’m really not exited about is the spiders! I don’t like spiders! I’m going to miss school because I don’t get to go back to it. I’m also going to miss all of my friends. But I know that when I come back from Africa, I’ll feel the same because I know that I’ll make friends there. Anyway, I think that I’m going to have to do a lot of work there because washing the dishes takes all day there. And the clothes! YOU HAVE TO DO THEM BY HAND!!! I’m exited to go for the beach and friends. I don’t want to get bit by mosquidos. THE END

I am really annoyed that everyone keeps asking me if I’m exited to go to Liberia, so hopefully this will will stop them from asking. I’m not exited because I’m going to miss some people, but I’m exited for a trip. So if your reading this than than tell everybody that you think I might know to shut their mouths and stop asking me that stupid, stupid question, bye. I’m kind of kidding kind of not. Here are the things I’m exited about: